Southwestern Spaghetti Casserole Recipe

A close friend made this Mexican-Italian bake for me almost 20 years ago, and I've prepared it regularly ever since. It comes together in a snap because it relies largely on convenience items I keep on hand. We like it with a loaf of crusty bread. —Rose Turner
Christiansburg, Virginia

Freeze option: Cool unbaked casserole; cover and freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa.

Originally published as Southwestern Spaghetti in Quick Cooking
March/April 2003, p29

"Made this tonight for my family and they LOVED it. I cut the calories by using 90/10 ground beef and reduced fat cheese. Used the Healthy spaghetti. Spiced it up with hot and spicy Taco mix. Left out olives and mushrooms since my family doesn't like either."

"I made some changes to the recipe. Not particularly liking black olives, I increased the amount of mushrooms to approx. 7 oz. Instead of sprinkling all the cheese over the top before baking, I sprinkled half over half the spaghetti mixture and the other half over the top of the full amount."

"I made this with the Barilla PLUS Protein Spaghetti which made a very hearty meal. I only had a 24 oz jar of spag sauce so I added a good splash of HOT taco sauce to make up for the difference. LOVED it! I loved mixing the bake with the lettuce, sour cream and tomatoes- very good. You may want to try a milder sauce though if you don't like things too spicy. Even my kids liked it!"